Illinois State Report Card

Information Dr. McConnell shared with our parents in an email sent on 10/31/2018 regarding the State of Illinois' public school report cards.

I am writing to you today to share information regarding the State of Illinois’ release of all public school report cards. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the country’s national education law, has required states to change how they are reporting the success of schools. Instead of measuring schools based solely on student achievement on standardized tests, schools are now measured by a variety of factors that figure into their overall rating. As you can see, overall student achievement now only accounts for 20% of a school’s rating while student growth accounts for 50%. By the 2021-2022 school year, there will be 10 different factors that will be taken into account when rating a school, as seen below.

Based on a school’s performance on these factors, schools are given one of four ratings by the State of Illinois. Schools are designated as either Exemplary, Commendable, Underperforming or Lowest-Performing. Schools that receive a summative designation as either Underperforming or Lowest-Performing are eligible for additional resources from the State of Illinois to help support their students learning and growth.

I am proud to say that in the Deerfield Public Schools District #109 all six of our schools received a designation of either Exemplary or Commendable.

Let me also say that this change represents a significant step in the right direction for the State of Illinois in how they are rating our schools. Although I still feel they have a ways to go, the days of celebrating or punishing schools based only on one measure are coming to an end. This new process allows schools, that may have traditionally been thought of as failing based only on student achievement, to be recognized if their students are learning, growing, and closing gaps at a high pace. On the other hand, it holds school districts like ours accountable, in that we can no longer only celebrate our overall high student achievement. We must also be consistently focused on how ALL students are growing from year to year, as well as other factors, such as attendance.

I continue to be proud and amazed by the work of our incredible teachers, families, and above all - our students. We will continue to carry out our mission to Engage, Inspire, and Empower all of our learners every day. Have a safe and happy Halloween.